


Without You, I'm Just A Sad Song

by dazedastrophile



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Basically perfect balance of what I'm used to and what I'm not, Blood and Injury, Gun Violence, Gunshot Wounds, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, There's fluff sprinkled in there somewhere as well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28540650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dazedastrophile/pseuds/dazedastrophile
Summary: TK and Carlos' night out is suddenly shattered by an unexpected event.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Comments: 11
Kudos: 163
Collections: 9-1-1 Lone Star ▶ Carlos Reyes / Tyler Kennedy "TK" Strand





	Without You, I'm Just A Sad Song

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tiniestmite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiniestmite/gifts).



> For Jamie, I give to you, my very first attempt at writing this type of hurt/comfort. Thank you for being so truly amazing and for being so supportive of me in my writing adventures. I'm so grateful for you. 💛

_ Suspect is armed, please do not approach if seen and report to authorities. _

TK frowns as he scrolls through the article on his phone. A few feet away, Carlos is having a conversation with the waiter as he pays for their food. As he comes to the picture of the man, he shakes his head and closes out of the news story before pushing his phone into his pocket. Tonight, he is selfishly thankful that Carlos is here with him. 

“What’s with the frown?” Carlos’ voice comes through to him as he steps up beside him. 

TK breaks from his thoughts and shakes his head, giving his husband a reassuring smile. “Nothing. I’m fine. Are you ready to go?” 

“Yeah, let’s go.” 

The Austin night is quiet as TK and Carlos step out of the restaurant. Instantly, they gravitate towards each other, their hands connecting as they walk down the sidewalk. It’s inevitable for them at this point, their bodies always finding each other, always chasing after the feeling that comes with the touches. It’s one of the best, most perfect feelings TK has ever had.

“You know what could make this night ten times better?” Carlos asks, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled over them. TK raises a brow, giving Carlos a look. 

“What?” 

Carlos quickly turns and moves as if he was going to lean in for a kiss but stops just shy of touching their lips together. “Skittles.” 

TK’s mouth nearly drops open as Carlos chuckles and walks away from him. He stands for a moment before he moves to catch up. As he turns the corner, his mouth open to have some  _ words _ with his husband, he freezes. He can see Carlos speaking with a figure sitting on the sidewalk near the Camaro. TK swallows hard and slowly walks over to them. 

“Carlos.” TK says cautiously as he comes up beside him. Carlos looks at him and so does the man that he is talking with. Now that TK can see him full on, he realises that he looks incredibly familiar. It doesn’t take long before the pieces click in his head and he almost thinks his heart will beat right out of his chest. This is the man in the article he was just reading. “We need to go.” 

“It’s okay, sweetheart.” Carlos says. “He just asked for a bit of money.” 

TK exchanges a look with the man on the ground, unable to pull his gaze away from him. It’s almost as if TK can also see everything come together in his head as well. 

“Thank you for your kindness.” The man says, finally pulling his gaze away from TK and sets it onto Carlos. TK wills himself to stay calm. He knew he should have said something to Carlos about the whole ordeal. TK steps back, preparing to cross the street, watching the conversation intently.

“Don’t mention it. Take care of yourself.” Carlos says. 

Carlos moves to turn towards TK and gives him a small smile. TK feels his lips curl slightly upwards, unable to stop when seeing Carlos’ smile. He’s almost too engulfed in it to notice the gun being raised. His eyes widen and his mind screams at him. 

“Carlos!” 

The name leaves his mouth just as the harsh sound of a gunshot explodes through the air and rips through him. TK watches in slow motion horror as Carlos collides harsly with the ground and TK can immediately see blood flood onto the pavement. He collapses onto his knees, tears falling from his eyes. His husband gasps for air as TK presses his hands against the wound, and the blood frantically seeps through his fingers. Carlos flinches at the pressure being applied and a low whine escapes his mouth. 

“Carlos, sweetheart, you’re okay.” TK whimpers, shaking his head. He looks up and in hopes of finding someone in the vicinity to hear him. “Help! I need help! Please!” 

He waits for a beat before turning back to Carlos whose eyes are slipping closed. “Hey! Carlos, I need you to stay with me, baby, please. Just breathe and stay awake.” Words frantically fall from TK’s lips and he wishes he would stop shaking. Suddenly another gunshot pops in his ears and he feels pain rip through his body and he winces. He squeezes his eyes shut and allows the feeling to pass before he opens them, putting his focus back onto Carlos. 

Then there’s another voice coming from somewhere behind them. “Hello! 911, yes, I need an ambulance, there’s two men that have been shot.” 

TK listens intently to the voice.  _ Two?  _ That can’t be right, he hasn’t been shot. Has he? TK shakes the thought away. From beneath his hands, Carlos’ breaths grow shallower, his eyelids beginning to shut. TK looks up just in time to see a few tears trace a path down his cheeks. 

“Hey,” TK says in a soft but firm voice. “It’s going to be okay, Carlos, I know it hurts. I’m so sorry, I wish I could do something to make it hurt less. I’m not going anywhere though, okay? I’m right here, baby.” 

Tears begin to slide down TK’s own cheeks and he feels himself begin to grow tired of applying pressure. A tingling feeling develops in his fingertips and then his hands begin to go numb. His body defies him, losing its strength to continue on with the task. It screams at him to stop, to do anything, to rest. But he can’t, he can’t give up. Carlos  _ has _ to be okay. He’ll make sure he’s okay. But the pain was so much, why was he in so much pain? 

Finally, he begins to hear sirens and he has to thank the universe for it. An ambulance pulls up beside them and TK immediately recognises the 126 on the back of it. The paramedics spill from it, Michelle, Nancy and then Tim. In a matter of seconds, they are surrounding him. 

“TK, what happened?” Michelle asks, attempting a professional tone but her voice breaks under the strain to keep her emotions in check. 

“We were just walking back to the car!” TK sobs. “He was just trying to help! It all happened so fast!” 

“Okay,” Michelle whispers. “You’re okay, sweetie, just let me take it from here.” 

TK wants to object but his body seems to fall away on it’s own and he backs away, falling to sit on the ground. He stares at his hands, covered in his husband’s blood and he feels as though he is going to be sick. It doesn’t take long before the crew has Carlos loaded onto the stretcher and they’re pushing him into the ambulance. 

“Hey, TK.” Nancy’s soft voice comes through to him and he feels a hand squeeze his shoulder. “Let’s get you in there with him, yeah?” 

TK slowly nods and when Nancy stands up, he follows. He sways the moment he stands upright and a wave of nausea and pain tears him apart. He gasps loudly and his vision blurs violently. He pushes his hand against the pain in his stomach to try and ease the feeling. 

“TK?” Nancy questions, turning to look back. When he looks up, he sees a horrified look on her face. “TK!”

She can’t make it to him before his knees buckle and he’s falling, hard and without any warning. His head connects after his knees, a few racing heartbeats between each impact. She’s beside him within seconds and he flinches when she presses her hands to the wound on his stomach. TK tries to breath, tries to focus on anything but going into the darkness. His head hurts and his vision blurs. 

“TK! Stay with me! TK -” 

Nancy’s words are violently cut off as his mind finds the darkness and he allows it to take him away. His last thought is of Carlos’ smile. 

***

TK figures waking up in the hospital should not feel like such a routine. But as his senses come alive from within him, he finds the familiarity of it all. The smell of bleach, the sound of the slow steady beeps of the machines he’s connected to, the feel of the terribly hard mattress underneath him. He groans as his body wakes up enough to feel the pain. 

“TK?” 

There’s a voice beside him, it’s muffled and sounds far away. TK wants to see who it is but he can’t seem to open his eyes. 

A sound of pain comes from the back of his throat. “Carlos.” He mumbles, hoping his husband was beside him. A horrid memory flashes before his eyes before they are snapping open and the bright lights of the hospital room blind him. “Carlos!” 

“TK, hey, calm down.” The voice comes again, this time much clearer and TK can now hear that it is a female’s voice, soft and reassuring. TK blinks a few times before he looks beside the bed. Marjan stands there, a worried look on her tired face. Beside her, his father stands with a similar expression on his face. TK can feel tears welling up in his eyes as he stares at them, having some sort of silent conversation. He feels a wave of panic and horror wash through him. 

“Carlos?” He whispers, his voice breaking under the weight of the name. Marjan’s look doesn’t change and he thinks that must be a good thing.

She puts a hand onto his shoulder. “He’s getting something to eat. He’s okay, he’s been waiting for you to wake up.” She whispers, before she gives him a small smile. “You saved his life, TK.” 

TK can’t help the noise of relief that escapes from him and the tears fall. 

“I need to see him.” TK insists and he moves without thinking about it. Pain shoots through his torso and he winces. 

“Whoa,” Marjan exclaims. “You aren’t in any shape to be going anywhere.”

“But -” 

“She’s right, kid. You were shot, you need to rest.” 

TK freezes in his movements and looks to his father. “Shot?” 

Well that would explain the pain. 

Owen and Marjan share a look of confusion before their gazes find him again. Marjan nods. “Alright, I’m going to go tell Carlos that you’re awake.” 

TK watches her go before he is brought out of his thoughts by his father’s voice. “TK, what do you remember?” 

TK thinks for a moment. “Carlos and I were walking to the car after dinner. I remember a man and a gun. Carlos was shot and -” He cuts himself off, shaking his head, unable to think anymore. 

“And so were you.” Owen whispers, his voice unbearably low. 

TK snaps his head up. “What? How? I don’t -” 

“Michelle figures you were in shock and your adrenaline spiked, it was as if your body shut that part of you off. Nancy said she didn’t even realise and that it was only discovered when you tried to stand up and walk to the ambulance.” Owen’s voice grows somber. “You lost a lot of blood. They nearly lost you on the way to the hospital.” 

A new round of tears find his eyes. “How long have I been out?” 

“A week.” Owen whispers. 

“And Carlos?” TK asks. 

“He was awake the day after.” Owen says. “Marjan wasn’t kidding, you saved his life. Without you, he would have been in a lot worse shape.” 

“I just wanted him to be okay.” TK mumbles, looking down and forcing a tear to break free and drop. Owen raises a hand and brushes at TK’s hair with his palm. 

“And he is, kid. He’s okay.” Owen assures him and TK needs to hear it. He needs to hear it a million times over.

A knock at the door brings them out of their conversation and TK looks towards the sound. His heart skips a beat when he sees him. Carlos is truly the most beautiful sight TK has ever seen, even after surely staying in the hospital for the past week. 

Owen pats TK’s arm. “I’m going to go get a coffee.” 

TK nods and Owen walks towards the door, stopping to give Carlos’ shoulder a squeeze before he’s gone with Marjan following. They sit, staring at each other for a few moments before Carlos moves to walk inside the room. When he comes to a halt at TK’s bedside, TK can see his eyes glistening with unshed tears. 

Carlos raises a hand, putting it against TK’s cheek. TK automatically leans into the touch. “I’m so happy you’re okay.” Carlos whispers as the tears start rolling down his face.

Instead of replying, TK moves to grab Carlos’ hand and pulls him gently down onto the bed next to him. Immediately, he wraps his arms around Carlos and leans his head into the crook of Carlos’ neck. TK inhales, taking in the smell that he has grown so accustomed to the last three years. 

“I thought I was going to lose you.” TK says, his voice muffled into Carlos’ skin. 

“Me too.” Carlos whispers. “I was so scared.” He pulls away so he can level his gaze with TK’s. “But, Michelle told me you saved me and while you shouldn’t have put your life on the line like that -”

“To be fair, I didn’t know I was putting my life on the line.” TK interrupts, a joking tone to his voice. Carlos gives him a soft smile. 

“Yes, you have got to be the only person who could get shot and  _ not _ notice.” Carlos quips back. 

TK shrugs before he raises a hand to run his fingers through Carlos’ curls. “I would do it again though. In a heartbeat. I would do it all over again if I knew you’d be here with me now.”

Carlos moves to close the space between them and bring their lips together. It’s a brief kiss but it’s filled with so much love and relief.

When they pull away, moments later, Carlos speaks. “How did you know that guy was dangerous?” 

“I read an article when you were paying for the food, I was going to tell you but I completely forgot. I should have. I’m -”

“Ty, don’t you dare apologise. This is not your fault.” Carlos whispers. 

“But I could have -” 

“Stop. We do not need to play this game. We are both okay and that’s all that matters. There doesn’t have to be any if’s or but’s about it. It’s okay.  _ We’re _ okay.” Carlos assures him. 

TK can’t help but to smile at that. Once again, Carlos is right. They are both alive and while it may be a long process, they’ll get through the healing process. Carlos moves closer to him, careful of his and TK’s matching wounds and TK figures it’s the best medication he can have. Yes, they’ll get through this and they’ll do it together. 

All they’ll ever need is each other. 

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading! It is much appreciated! Comments/kudos are always welcome if you would like to leave one and let me know what you thought! <3
> 
> Title taken from "Sad Song" by We The Kings.


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